Official UK procurement notice
Creative Agency Services · UK public procurement notice
Authority: FIRST GREATER WESTERN LIMITED (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionGWR will be tendering for a new contract for creative services for brand leisure and product marketing activity. This is an exciting opportunity to become the creative and strategic agency partner for a trailblazing train operating company with big ambitions to raise the bar in travel marketing, driving powerful revenue impact and brand fame. We want to be the train operator that bucks the trend not only in the world of rail but in the travel category, implementing best-in-class travel marketing communications that excites customers to get on board and experience our world-class network.
- How the procedure runs: Stage 1 - Conditions of Participation Stage 2 - Initial ITT Stage 3 - Negotiation and Final ITT
CPV: Advertising and marketing services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£8,000,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (4)
- Delivery of Creative Strategy: 50%
- Whole life cost/Value for money: 40%
- Commercials/Contract: 5%
- ESG/Sustainability: 5%
Published award criteria (4)
- Whole life cost/Value for money
- Delivery of Creative Strategy
- ESG/Sustainability
- Commercials/Contract
- Price carries 45 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4.5 points. Quality carries 50 of 100: the paper moves it further than the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 5 Dec 2025, 16:09 GMT
- Last source update
- 18 May 2026, 16:20 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 8 May 2026
- Authority reference
FX1332- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-080311- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05f017Find a Tender
- How it runs
Stage 1 - Conditions of Participation
Stage 2 - Initial ITT
Stage 3 - Negotiation and Final ITT
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 9 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadline
- 9 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Interested suppliers to visit the below link to express an interest in the opportunity:
s2c-uk62.waxdigital.com/FirstGroupPlc/Displa… ↗
Suppliers should note that a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) will need to be signed in order to access to the Tender briefing document. More instructions will be provided following expression of interest
Timeline
5 Dec 2025 → 1 Jul 2026 · 7 dates- Tender notice published320 days ago5 Dec 2025, 16:09 GMT
- Submission deadline285 days ago9 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by166 days ago8 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent160 days ago15 May 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published156 days ago18 May 2026, 16:20 BST
- Standstill ends146 days ago28 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts113 days ago1 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 5 Dec 2025- Tender notice published5 Dec 2025, 16:09 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published18 May 2026, 16:20 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete18 May 2026, 16:20 BST
- Contract signature expected1 Jul 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| DDB UK Limited1 Jul 2026 – 30 Jun 2029 · up to 30 Jun 2031Extensions: Optional extension for an additional 2 years following expiry of the initial 3 year contract | £4,015,523 inc. VAT | 15 May 2026standstill to 28 May 2026 | Standstill |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- DDB UK LIMITEDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender